Connecting School Girls in Herat with Students across the World

Students at Mehri Herawi High School in Herat are now able to connect with international students to share experiences.

Closed under the Taliban, Mehri Herawi High School in Herat Province now allows 7,000 girls to get a quality education, thanks in part to UK aid. The students can also share experiences with other students around the world, through a Connecting Classrooms project.

Improving the quality of education is essential for poverty alleviation and economic growth in Afghanistan. Receiving funding from the UK-supported Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, Mehri Herawi High School is an excellent example of how education can positively change the lives of young girls and their families.

Mehri Herawi High School is now a thriving, model school with 7,000 students, benefitting from quality facilities and equipment. It has a well-equipped library, two computer centres (in which students have even developed a learning smartphone app), several science labs and many brightly coloured and welcoming classrooms.

Mehri Herawi High School also benefits from the UK aid funded Connecting Classrooms project, run by the British Council. Through this project the students have built links with pupils in schools in Pakistan, India, Scotland and elsewhere. The teachers speak proudly about their involvement in this initiative. They say their students gain a lot from the cultural exchange, including the chance to practice their English language skills.

Investment in Afghanistan’s education system has dramatically improved school attendance from around 1 million children (all boys) in 2001 to 7.2 million children in 2014 (39% girls).